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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25622494">aquarius, of transition</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/discordiansamba/pseuds/discordiansamba'>discordiansamba</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the stars shine a different shine [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Age Swap, Alternate Universe, Champion Keith (Voltron), Gen, M/M, Roleswap</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:46:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,526</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25622494</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/discordiansamba/pseuds/discordiansamba</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Stepping into a leadership role proves more difficult than Shiro could have imagined, and truthfully, he's still not sure if he's up to the challenge.</p><p>(or, a roleswap au between keith and shiro)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Keith &amp; Shiro (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the stars shine a different shine [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1354624</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>94</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>aquarius, of transition</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Cannot tell you how long I've been working on this update, but it's finally done! I toyed around with a lot of of different ideas for this phase of the story, but eventually I decided to just (mostly) stick with Shiro's POV throughout the entire thing. This one ended up pretty long! But I'm glad to have it off my plate as much as I enjoyed writing parts of it.</p><p>Next up, crimson!</p><p>As always, thanks for reading! And remember, you can always hit me up on my fic tumblr, <a href="https://discordiansamba.tumblr.com/">discordiansamba!</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sound of alarms was <em>not </em>a pleasant way to wake up.</p><p>He could have sworn that his heart nearly leapt out of his chest as he was jostled awake by the sound. Throwing off his covers, Shiro leapt to his feet, already rushing towards the bridge even before Allura's voice joined the alarms.</p><p>By the time he actually <em>reached </em>said bridge... well, he'd sort of realized that this probably <em>wasn't </em>an actual emergency.</p><p>He was the first to arrive, with Adam hot on his heels. A weary Pidge trailed in behind him, still in his day clothes, followed shortly by Hunk, pajama-clad and only half-awake despite all the noise. Allura and Coran were already on the bridge, the latter putting on a melodramatic one-man production in which the Galra had cut off Allura's head- which was apparently talking to him.</p><p>Allura did not look amused.</p><p>But then, she didn't exactly look amused with <em>them </em>either.</p><p>Narrowing her eyes, she scanned the bridge, visibly not finding what- or <em>who</em>- she wanted to see. "Only three of you?"</p><p>Exchanging an uncertain glance with Adam, Shiro frowned. "I'm pretty sure there's <em>four </em>of us here, your highness."</p><p>Allura opened her mouth only to shut it, heaving a sigh. "Though it is good to see Adam is responsive as well, I was hoping to get more of a response from the actual <em>paladins</em>."</p><p>She paused, glancing slightly in Adam's direction. "No offense."</p><p>"None taken." Adam shrugged it off. "So I'm guessing this was just a drill?"</p><p>"Precisely." Allura said. "One that you all failed."</p><p>Pidge groaned, tiredly rubbing at his eyes. "We're here, aren't we?"</p><p>"Yes, but none of you are wearing your armor," Allura stated. "-and neither you nor Hunk thought to bring your bayards. And where are Keith and Lance?"</p><p>"Figured it was a drill," almost as if on cue, the doors to the bridge opened to admit Keith, "-so I just decided to take my time."</p><p>Glancing behind him, Shiro smiled at the older man. He caught his gaze, the edge of his lips twitching slightly upwards. His day clothes looked rumpled, almost like he'd slept in them- or just didn't sleep, which he was starting to suspect was the case with Pidge. Honestly, he could have slept better himself- he'd tossed and turned in the bed the princess had provided him with, too full of uncertainties to snatch more than a few hours of solid rest.</p><p>He'd never led <em>anything </em>before.</p><p>Narrowing her eyes, Allura inclined her head so that she could stare straight into Keith's. "And what made you so sure it was a drill?"</p><p>Arching a brow, Keith's gaze flickered in Coran's direction, before flicking wordlessly back towards Allura.</p><p>"...alright, fair point." Allura admitted. "But how did you know <em>before </em>that?"</p><p>Keith just shrugged. "Used to have a commander that loved pulling surprise drills. Doesn't take long to get a feel for them."</p><p>Coran perked up at that. "You have previous experience with the military, then?"</p><p>Yawning, Keith tucked his hands into his jacket pockets, coming to stand next to him and Adam. "Something like that. Anyways, where's the other kid?"</p><p>"You mean Lance?" Hunk asked.</p><p>"Right. Him." Keith said, before glancing at Hunk with a slight frown. "...and your name was?"</p><p>"It's Hunk." Hunk said flatly, sounding a lot more confident around him than he had yesterday. Then again, that <em>could </em>just be due to the fact that he probably wasn't completely awake yet. "Hunk Garrett? We literally met yesterday- at least, I think it was yesterday. Time in space is <em>weird</em>."</p><p>"Try being held for nearly a year in a ship with no day and night cycle." Keith muttered underneath his breath.</p><p>Shiro frowned, his gaze darting up towards Keith. They hadn't really had time to talk about what he'd gone through while he'd been a prisoner of the Galra yet.</p><p>Something told him that Keith had no intention to.</p><p>It was frustrating, knowing that. It wasn't like he didn't understand- to Keith, he was nothing more than a kid, and he wasn't exactly the type to dump all his problems on someone a good seven years younger. Or <em>anyone</em>, for that matter.</p><p>But that didn't mean it felt <em>fair</em>- especially when Keith had always made time to listen to <em>his </em>problems. He just wished he could pay back the favor.</p><p>As if sensing his thoughts, Adam gave his hand a squeeze. He gave his boyfriend a faint smile, entwining his fingers with his. If he had to be stuck this far out in space with little hope of getting home, he was glad that Adam was here with him.</p><p>"Regardless," Allura cut in, "-we must always be ready to-"</p><p>The doors to the bridge opened a second time, prompting Allura to snap her mouth shut and glare at Lance. The blue paladin appeared remarkably relaxed given the alarms, which meant he was either the world's deepest sleeper, or he'd been wearing headphones.</p><p>(He was going to vote for the headphones. Those alarms had been <em>loud</em>.)</p><p>"So <em>this </em>is where you all are." Lance yawned, displaying a remarkable lack of ability to read the room. "When's breakfast? Not to sound like Hunk, but I'm <em>starving</em>."</p><p>Allura heaved yet another sigh, this one more long suffering than the last. Part of him actually felt kind of <em>bad </em>for her. She'd probably been expecting a little bit more from the new paladins of Voltron. It was pretty clear that they were going to have their work cut out for them if they hoped to even have a <em>chance </em>of defeating Zarkon.</p><p><em>He </em>had his work cut out for him.</p><p>Since <em>apparently</em>, he was Voltron's <em>leader</em>.</p><p>He... still didn't quite know what to make of that fact. If anything, he was convinced that <em>Keith </em>would be more suited to the role than him- but apparently the choice wasn't theirs. It wasn't even <em>Allura's</em>.</p><p>It was the lions'.</p><p>Keith agreed with their choice, but he wasn't so sure <em>he </em>did. Still, if he was going to be the leader, then he guessed he needed to start acting like it.</p><p>"Allura has a point," Shiro said, hoping he sounded authoritative enough, "-we need to be ready at a moment's notice to fight the Galra."</p><p>He must have said something right, because Allura cast a favorable look in his direction, before turning back towards the others. "That's only one of the many things you'll need. If we are going to have a hope of defeating Zarkon, then the five of you will need to be able to form Voltron at any time."</p><p>"That sounds an <em>awful lot</em> like you think we need practice." Hunk observed. "Which... yeah, okay. I guess we kind of do. I'm still not sure how we formed Voltron the <em>first </em>time."</p><p>"Aw man," Lance moaned, "-I thought we wouldn't have to deal with morning practice now that we're not at the Garrison anymore."</p><p>"With <em>this </em>guy in charge?" Adam asked, nudging Shiro in the shoulder. "No chance."</p><p>"Don't worry," Shiro said, glancing in Allura's direction, "-I'm sure we can get some breakfast first."</p><p>"Of course." Allura said. "Coran can show you all to the kitchen."</p><p>"Plenty of food goo for everyone!" Coran chirped.</p><p>"Ugh, the food goo <em>again</em>?" Hunk asked. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'll eat it, but don't you guys have like... any <em>actual </em>food?"</p><p>"I am certain we do," Allura agreed, "-but that's only if your species has the ability to digest food that's ten thousand years old."</p><p>"You know what?" Hunk said. "I think I'm just fine sticking with the food goo."</p><p>"But what about the prisoners we rescued?" Pidge asked. "I wanted to talk to them."</p><p>"Negative, number six." Coran said firmly. "They'll need to stay in the cryo-replenishers until at least tomorrow."</p><p>"...number six?" Keith asked, arching a brow.</p><p>"I've got you all ranked by height, you see!" Coran declared, making a show of measuring Pidge with his hands. "Pidge is the shortest, so they're number six!"</p><p>"Wait," Lance counted down on his fingers, his face scrunching in displeasure once he'd done the math, "-doesn't that make me like number five or something?"</p><p>"It does indeed!" Coran chirped, completely oblivious to the fact that Lance's protest was well... a <em>protest</em>. "Starting with Keith, the six of you are-"</p><p>Allura cleared her throat. "Coran."</p><p>"Oh, right." Coran said, cutting short what felt as if it would be a lengthy ramble. "The answer is still no, I'm afraid, number six."</p><p>Pidge frowned, but didn't push the issue. He shot him a sympathetic look. He wasn't quite sure what his deal was with the Holts, but he had to have <em>some </em>connection if he was this anxious about the prisoners. He just hoped that for his sake, they'd have some good information.</p><p>"Alright team," Shiro said, trying to channel his inner leader, "-after breakfast, we'll get to training. Our goal is to be able to form Voltron by the end of the day."</p><p>Allura gave a curt nod of approval, apparently satisfied. After ten thousand years in cryosleep, she was probably eager to get out there and start fighting back against the Empire that had destroyed her home.</p><p>"Actually," Keith cut in, "-I think there's something Shiro needs to discuss with Coran first."</p><p>Blinking, Shiro glanced up at him in confusion, for a second unsure what he was talking about. What did he need to-?</p><p>Then he caught Keith's eye, and felt his right arm twitch in response.</p><p>Right. <em>That</em>.</p><p>"With Coran?" Allura frowned, exchanging a glance with the mustached alien, who simply shrugged, unbothered by the sudden request. "Of course. But might I inquire as to why?"</p><p>"It's personal." Keith said curtly- before hastily adding, "-no offense."</p><p>Allura's frown only deepened, and for a second, he thought she'd press the issue. But instead she schooled her features into a neutral expression, merely inclining her head. He couldn't say he wasn't grateful for it. His condition had been something he'd kept secret back at the Garrison. Outside of the base's medical personnel and his instructors, no one knew about it- with the exception of Keith and Adam, of course. Suffice to say, he wasn't exactly in a rush to let the whole world know about it.</p><p>Especially not the people he was supposed to <em>lead</em>.</p><p>"I understand," she said. "In that case, I can guide everyone to the kitchen myself while you speak with Coran."</p><p>"Thanks," Keith said, "-shouldn't take long."</p><p>Walking past them, Allura motioned for everyone else to follow her. For the most part they did, only Pidge pausing at the door to glance back towards Adam with an uncertain frown.</p><p>"Aren't you coming?"</p><p>Adam gave Pidge a faint smile, even as he moved to stand closer to Shiro. "I'll catch up."</p><p>Pidge hesitated for a second longer, before shrugging. "Suit yourself."</p><p>Shiro gave him a grateful smile. Talking about his disease hadn't gotten any easier since his initial diagnosis, so he was grateful to have him by his side. Keith too, of course- even if he <em>was </em>a little miffed he'd decided to push the subject.</p><p>That said, he saw his point. Things were fine for now, but there was no telling when he might have his next flare-up. Even if they didn't have a way to help him, Allura and Coran deserved to know just who it was they were putting their faith in. He knew by that logic, he should probably also tell the rest of the team, but...</p><p>...well, one step at a time.</p><p>Drawing in a breath, Shiro instinctively reached out a hand. Without even having to ask, Adam took it, entwining his fingers with his own, giving it an encouraging squeeze.</p><p>"The truth is-"</p>
<hr/><p>"Well, I can't say that I've ever heard of anything like this before-"</p><p>Shiro's face fell, any hope he might have held slipping away even as Coran spoke.</p><p>"-<em>but</em>," Coran continued, "-that doesn't mean that we can't work together to find a solution."</p><p>Looking up at Coran, Shiro felt Adam squeeze his hand. "Do you really think you can help?"</p><p>"Well I don't see why not." Coran said, tugging on one end of his mustache. "I might not know too much about you humans, but the Castle does have an extensive medical library. Why, I'd be more surprised if we <em>couldn't </em>find some way to help."</p><p>Shiro felt a rush of relief wash over him. He hadn't said anything definite, and yet his words somehow still managed to inspire more confidence than anything his specialist back on Earth had ever told him.</p><p>"See?" Keith nudged his shoulder. "What did I tell you?"</p><p>Rolling his eyes, Shiro shot him a glare. Keith just quirked a brow in response, silently calling his bluff. Huffing, Shiro cracked a smile, before glancing towards Adam, his boyfriend's expression mirroring his own.</p><p>Maybe he really <em>did </em>have a chance.</p><p>"Ideally I'd like to put you in one of the pods to do a full scan, but they're a bit occupied at the moment." Coran said, thoughtfully twirling one end of his mustache. "So we'll just have to wait a bit on that part."</p><p>At the mention of the pods, Keith's eyes briefly narrowed. Catching it, Shiro frowned, wondering just what the story there was. He'd heard from Pidge that the prisoners had called him <em>Champion</em>, but thus far, he'd refused to elaborate on it.</p><p>"I think I can wait a day or two." Shiro said. "Thanks, Coran."</p><p>"No need to thank me." Coran said. "It's my job to make sure you paladins are in top shape. And your partners, of course."</p><p>He didn't miss the significant look he shot in Adam's direction. They both flushed, each suddenly finding the Castle's floor incredibly interesting- though neither of them let go of each others hands. He didn't even dare look up at Keith, who he already knew from experience was probably just making that same cheeky smirk he did whenever someone teased them.</p><p>"Good to know." Adam said, coughing into his hand.</p><p>"If that's all," Keith said, "-we should probably join the others."</p><p>Glancing towards Keith, Shiro frowned. Speaking of things that should probably be talked about...</p><p>"Actually," Shiro blurted out before he could stop himself, "-I think Keith needs someone to take a look at his left leg."</p><p>Keith flinched, glaring in his direction. It might have worked, if he hadn't gotten indifferent to it over the years. Instead he just arched his brows- as far as he saw it, turnabout was fair play. It was only fair he returned the favor.</p><p>"Really?" Coran blinked, glancing down at the aforementioned appendage. "I hadn't noticed anything wrong with it. Did it get banged up when you went to retrieve the red lion?"</p><p>"Something like that." Keith lied, one hand darting towards his left knee. "It's nothing."</p><p>"You've been messing with your leg ever since you crash landed." Shiro said. "It's not nothing."</p><p>Locking eyes with him, Keith's lips twisted into a frown. But rather than look away, Shiro held his gaze. He wasn't going to back down here- not when he <em>knew </em>something was wrong with his leg.</p><p>Finally breaking eye contact, Keith let out a long sigh. "It's not an injury."</p><p>"It's obviously <em>something</em>." Adam said. "You mess with it the same way Takashi messes with his wrist."</p><p>Keith stayed silent for a second longer, before heaving another sigh. Reaching for his pant leg, he pulled it up, revealing dull metal where human flesh should be. There was a nasty scar where the prosthetic met his human flesh, and he shuddered, wondering just what had happened to cause him to lose it in the first place.</p><p>"What," Shiro stumbled over the word, "-what <em>happened</em>?"</p><p>"I lost it while I was in the arena." Yanking his pant leg down, Keith pointedly refused to look at them, masking his expression by way of his long hair. "It got replaced. That's all."</p><p>He felt Adam's grip on his hand tighten. He looked just as stricken as Shiro felt. He should have known from the obvious claw marks on his cheek that Keith hadn't come out of the arena unscathed, but he hadn't...</p><p>...he hadn't considered just how <em>bad </em>it could be.</p><p>Suddenly he understood a little better why he might not want to talk about it.</p><p>"No shame in that, Number One." Coran hummed, toying with one end of his mustache. "Even before the Galra started to use prisoners in their gladiator matches, they were notoriously tough. I can't imagine how much worse they've gotten since they started forcing people to fight in them instead. You're lucky to have survived."</p><p>"Yeah," Keith said, his tone curt, "-thanks."</p><p>An uncomfortable silence swept over them. Exchanging a look with Adam, he just shook his head. Exhaling, Shiro looked towards Keith, who was still pointedly avoiding eye contact.</p><p>"In that case," he said, "-we probably should join the others. I don't want to make the princess wait too long."</p><p>"No, can't advise that." Coran said. "She can be a touch impatient at times."</p><p>"Sounds like you guys will have a fun time training today." Adam teased. "Almost makes me glad I'm <em>not </em>a paladin. Nothing but free time for me."</p><p>It was a blatant attempt to lighten the mood- one that seemed to work. Finally looking up, Keith glanced in Adam's direction, a faint smile tugging at his lips.</p><p>"Now hold on there just a tick, Number Three." Coran interjected. "I could use an extra pair of hands to help repair the Castle. I'm not quite as youthful as I used to be, I'm afraid. Might need your help in getting to some of the harder to reach places."</p><p>Shiro snorted, barely able to cover his mouth in time. Adam shot him a glare, making a show of removing his hand from his, folding his arms in front of him.</p><p>That just made him laugh <em>more</em>.</p><p>"Sure," Adam said, visibly pretending to pout, "-just yak it up."</p><p>Someone snorted, but it wasn't him this time. Looking up, he met Keith's eyes. The edge of his lips twitched upwards in a faint smile, before he shook his head.</p><p>"Sounds like we <em>all </em>have a busy day ahead of us, then." Keith said, giving Adam a pointed look. "Come on. Let's see if that food goo is half as bad as Hunk makes it sound."</p><p>Shiro felt his shoulders relax slightly. He wanted Keith to talk to him, but not at the expense of upsetting him. That wouldn't be helping. That would just be self-satisfaction.</p><p><em>Patience</em>, he reminded himself.</p><p>He had to have patience.</p>
<hr/><p>...okay, so maybe patience wasn't helping that much today.</p><p>Not with Keith! The issue wasn't Keith right now.</p><p>No, the issue was that in order to... <em>encourage </em>them to form Voltron, the princess had decided it would be a good idea to try and recreate the stress of yesterday's battle. It sounded like a good idea on paper- it was definitely true that they'd only been able to form Voltron yesterday because they'd all tapped into the same survival instinct. But in <em>actuality</em>...</p><p>...well, that just meant Allura using the Castle's defenses to <em>fire on them</em>.</p><p>"Oh <em>forget this</em>," he heard Lance shout over the coms, "-I'm heading back to the Castle!"</p><p>Famous last words, Shiro thought to himself, watching as the blue lion literally <em>bounced off</em> the Castle's particle barrier. Guess that thing wouldn't even let the lions through when it was up. It would be interesting to note- if he wasn't currently weaving through a veritable shower of laser beams, that was.</p><p>He was never more thankful for all those hours he'd spent in the simulator, running drill after drill. That said, this was only reinforcing what had been proven to him yesterday- that being in a simulator was <em>nothing </em>like dealing with the real thing. It didn't help that the black lion's controls were completely different than what he was used to, even if the lion itself seemed to somehow be guiding him.</p><p>It was... <em>strange</em>, being able to feel the lion. It felt so <em>alien</em>, but at the same time, it almost felt as if it had always been a part of him. He couldn't explain it, but it did at least leave him feeling a little more confident in himself.</p><p>The leadership part he still wasn't so sure of. But flying the black lion? Maybe he really <em>could </em>do that.</p><p>You know. If the Castle's lasers didn't kill him first.</p><p>At least he wasn't the only one struggling. In fact, he was pretty sure the only person who was actually doing well was <em>Keith</em>. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought he'd been flying the red lion for <em>years</em>, not two days. But then, considering his literal job description was that of a <em>test pilot</em>, the fact that he was getting the hang of this faster than any of them didn't really surprise him. The only real difference this time was the fact that he was flying an <em>alien </em>spacecraft, not just experimental prototypes.</p><p>He almost wished he had the chance to just watch, but considering the lasers... yeah, bad idea.</p><p>"Patience yields focus," he mumbled underneath his breath. In the back of his head, he swore he could hear the black lion rumble in something close to approval.</p><p>He was so focused, in fact, that he almost didn't notice when the shooting <em>stopped</em>. By the time he finally did, everyone else had already left- except for Keith, who'd apparently decided to wait for him.</p><p>"Where's-?"</p><p>"They went back inside as soon as the particle barrier went back down." Keith replied, and Shiro could swear that there was a touch of amusement in his voice. "Guess they weren't big fans of Allura's training style."</p><p>Shiro huffed. "Still think she's better than the Admiral?"</p><p>"You only say that because you haven't been subjected to one of her insane tests before." Keith pointed out. "Although in hindsight, I'm starting to suspect that she designed them to be as difficult as possible to discourage me from joining the Kerberos mission."</p><p>Shiro laughed. "That sounds like the Admiral."</p><p>"Wow," Keith hummed in amusement, "-should the Galaxy Garrison's Golden Boy really be saying that?"</p><p>"It's not like she's going to hear." Shiro said. "I don't think the Garrison has drones this far out in space."</p><p>"A solid point." Keith admitted. "So, should we head back? Not much point in bonding as a team if half the team isn't even <em>here</em>."</p><p>Shiro grimaced. Things hadn't exactly been going well, even <em>before </em>Allura had started firing on them. Part of him couldn't help but wonder if it was because of <em>him</em>. Maybe if he just had more confidence in himself as their leader, then...</p><p>He shook the thought off. He couldn't let himself think that way. Keith had been right yesterday- the lions didn't work like that. If the black lion had chosen him, then there <em>had </em>to be a reason for it. He was just going to have to put his faith into that.</p><p>Somehow, that was an easier thing to believe while he was in his lion.</p><p>"Yeah," he agreed, "-we probably should."</p><p>"Let's just hope we find them before Allura does." Keith said. "Something tells me that she won't be that keen on finding them skipping training."</p><p>...yeah. He got the feeling Keith was on to something there.</p>
<hr/><p>Turned out, he was.</p><p>Not only did Allura find the rest of the paladins first- all three of them had made a beeline for the lounge- but she <em>definitely </em>wasn't happy to hear that they'd left training before forming Voltron. Apparently the only reason the shooting had stopped was because Coran needed to test something, which she'd sounded pretty peeved about too.</p><p>That was how they all found themselves on the Castle's training deck, arranged in a loose circle. He hadn't even known that the Castle <em>had </em>a training deck, but after spending the past hour or so dodging laser fire, it sounded like a nice change of pace.</p><p>Or it would have, if the first exercise hadn't <em>also </em>involved laser fire.</p><p>"Well," Shiro said, grateful he'd been wearing a helmet when he'd been unceremoniously dropped into a pit under the training deck floor, "-that didn't go well."</p><p>"You could say that again." Pidge said, glaring at Hunk. He'd been the first to get hit, the newly minted yellow paladin dodging out of the way of the drone's fire without consideration of the person behind him- in this case, Pidge.</p><p>"Sorry," Hunk held up a hand, "-that was my bad. I promise to do better next time."</p><p>"Hey, Hunk is one thing." Lance narrowed his eyes, glancing towards Keith. "What I don't get is how you managed to fight in actual <em>wars</em>, and you <em>still </em>failed the drill."</p><p>Keith just arched a brow. "Weren't you the one who didn't block that last shot?"</p><p>Lance flinched, clearly not as ready to be called out on his own failure as he was to do so with others. "I just thought an <em>ex-mercenary</em> would be better at this."</p><p>Save for a quick roll of his eyes, Keith otherwise brushed the remark aside. "We didn't exactly work in this kind of team."</p><p>Inwardly, Shiro winced. He knew Keith didn't exactly have the best of reputations due to his past, but he'd been hoping it wouldn't be a problem.</p><p>Maybe he'd been too optimistic.</p><p>"Well, we're going to have to figure it out if we don't want to embarrass ourselves like that again." Pidge pointed out.</p><p>"Hey, look on the bright side." Hunk said. "At least your girlfriend wasn't here to see you fall through a hole."</p><p>Shiro winced, externally this time, abruptly recalling that Adam was in the observation tower with Coran. Something told him he'd be hearing more than his fair share of jokes about the indignant manner in which he'd fallen through said hole soon enough.</p><p>As if Adam's jokes weren't already bad on their own.</p><p>"Wait," Keith said, looking in Pidge's direction in surprise, "-girlfriend?"</p><p>"Well, you see," Hunk began with a grin, "-Pidge here-"</p><p>"It's nothing." Pidge hastily cut him off. "Hunk just found a photo of mine while snooping through my things <em>without permission</em> and got the wrong idea."</p><p>Shiro frowned, glancing in Hunk's direction, who only gave a sheepish shrug in his defense. Heaving a sigh, Shiro rose to his feet, attempting to square his shoulders and act like the leader he knew he was supposed to be... even if he felt a lot less like it after essentially getting dropped on his ass.</p><p>"Let's just head back up to the training deck for now." Shiro said. "I'm sure we'll do better at the next exercise."</p><p>His fellow paladins exchanged an uncertain glance.</p>
<hr/><p>Well... he hadn't been <em>entirely </em>wrong. The next exercise had gone better than the last one.</p><p>Sort of.</p><p><em>He'd </em>done well, at least. But then, he'd been partnered with Pidge, someone he already had experience working with. He'd been able to guide him through the invisible maze exercise with only a handful of hiccups, and Pidge had done pretty well himself once it was his turn on the mic.</p><p>As for <em>everyone else</em>...</p><p>...well, the less said about Lance and Keith's attempts, the better. They'd been paired together, which had very quickly turned into an exercise in futility as Lance only half-listened to Keith's instructions, and Keith got more and more frustrated as Lance purposefully misdirected him out of a misplaced sense of revenge for all the electric shocks he'd endured during his turn. Keith apparently went so far as to switch off his coms before the end of his maze run, opting instead to let pure instinct guide him.</p><p>(He'd done surprisingly well after that.)</p><p>Hunk, the odd one out, had also worked with Pidge. That had gone... well, it quickly became fairly obvious that Pidge still wasn't happy about having his privacy invaded. They hadn't done as badly as Lance and Keith, but there'd definitely been more electric shocks than was entirely necessary.</p><p>Guess interpersonal relationships were just <em>another </em>thing he was going to have to work on.</p><p>Sighing, Shiro couldn't help but wonder if the last black paladin ever had this much trouble.</p>
<hr/><p>It was official.</p><p>Aliens were <em>crazy</em>.</p><p>They were back in their lions again, only this time, the objective <em>wasn't </em>to form Voltron. He'd known that from the start, but Coran hadn't exactly explained much before telling them all to put their lions into a nose dive.</p><p>Then his vision had gone dark.</p><p>He'd momentarily panicked, fearful that it's cause was some previously unknown symptom of his condition triggered by the events of the past two days. Only once Coran had explained the exercise did he calm down, though his heart was still hammering in his chest. Even worse, his panic had cost him both valuable time <em>and </em>focus, things that for this exercise, were extremely important.</p><p>"<em>You must learn to see through your lion's eyes,</em>" Coran had told them, "-<em>feel what the lion feels.</em>"</p><p>Easier said than done. Right now all he could think about was how long he had until he hit the ground.</p><p>Below them was a deep ravine, but he didn't know how far away it was from his current position, or even really what speed he was going at. For all he knew, he might have angled his lion <em>away </em>from the ravine, and towards the desert, shortening the amount of time he had before he potentially crashed.</p><p>...which from the sound of it, was <em>exactly </em>what Lance had done.</p><p>And if Lance had already hit the ground, then how close was <em>he</em>?</p><p>Tightening his grip on the controls, Shiro drew in a deep breath. Hunk had already bowed out of the exercise in the first few seconds, and he wasn't sure about Pidge and Keith- though somehow he doubted that the latter could <em>ever </em>fail, at least, not when it came to piloting. He'd never been much of one to let fear get the better of him, and right now, that was an example Shiro desperately wanted to follow.</p><p>The whole universe was counting on them- on <em>him</em>- to get this right. He <em>had </em>to. And how hard could it be? All he really had to do was bond with his lion.</p><p>And see through its eyes, whatever <em>that </em>meant.</p><p>Exhaling, he forced himself to focus, drowning everything else out. He might not be quite sure what that meant, but he <em>could </em>feel the black lion. It was hard <em>not </em>to, when it had such a commanding presence. Usually it lingered in the back of his mind, distant but unmistakable, but the moment he started focusing on its presence, it became almost impossible to ignore.</p><p>In a way, it was almost intimidating. The black lion <em>loomed</em>, towering over him both in his mind, and in reality. But he was its <em>paladin</em>- and being the black lion's paladin made <em>him </em>the leader.</p><p>And if even <em>he </em>couldn't handle his lion, then how could they <em>ever </em>possibly form Voltron?</p><p>He could do this. He would do this. Concentrating, he narrowed his focus until the black lion was the only thing on his mind. It rumbled in approval, prompting him to open his eyes-</p><p>-and <em>see</em>-</p><p>...the ground, right as he was about to crash into it.</p><p>Groaning, Shiro held his head. Well, if nothing else, at least he knew for sure that his helmet was effective now. Leaning back in his chair, he let his grip on the controls grow lax, heaving a sigh. His vision had gone back to black, whatever connection he'd momentarily grasped at severed- at least for the time being.</p><p>He could still feel the black lion, but it was fainter now. Maybe if he'd made the connection a few seconds sooner...</p><p>...well, he probably still would have crashed. Let's be realistic.</p><p>Next time, though? Next time, he'd do better.</p><p>(The black lion rumbled in approval once more.)</p>
<hr/><p>"So how'd you do?"</p><p>Shiro jumped, pivoting on his heel to face a rather amused Keith. He was leaning against the wall outside of the black lion's hangar, his arms crossed in front of him. The edge of his lip quirked further upwards as their eyes met, and he fought the urge to groan. For someone who was supposed to be an adult, Keith sure had something of a childish streak.</p><p>(He wondered if the rest of the paladins would even <em>believe </em>that.)</p><p>"Trying to give your leader a heart attack?" Shiro asked.</p><p>"Trying to keep him on his toes." Keith blithely replied. "So? How'd it go?"</p><p>"Could have been better." Shiro admitted. "I think I was close to a breakthrough, but well... turns out, the ground was faster."</p><p>Keith chuckled. It was a faint, low sound, one that he'd missed after he'd left for Kerberos, and then even more after the mission's failure had been announced. At some point he'd come to think of Keith as less of a friend, and more of an older brother- though he'd never actually admitted as much to his face. It would only make things awkward if Keith didn't feel the same way.</p><p>"You'll be faster next time." Keith reassured him, in that awkward <em>am I doing this right</em> tone that he'd missed just as much as his laugh.</p><p>"Hope so." Shiro said. "If I'm going to lead this team, I have to know what I'm doing."</p><p>"You'll get the hang of it." Keith assured him, sounding far more resolute this time.</p><p>Shiro frowned, skeptical. "How can you be so sure?"</p><p>Keith shrugged. "Let's just call it instinct."</p><p>Shiro hummed, still not entirely convinced. He was glad that at least <em>someone </em>thought he had leadership potential, even if he wasn't that convinced himself.</p><p>"Thanks." Shiro said. "So... how did you do?"</p><p>Keith just shrugged again. "Fine, I guess."</p><p>Shiro arched a brow, staring at Keith suspiciously. That sounded like a vague answer if he'd ever heard one, which definitely meant that he was hiding something- or at least not telling the whole truth. "<em>Just </em>fine?"</p><p>"Well," Keith grinned, "-I didn't <em>crash</em>, for one thing."</p><p>His answer was no less vague, but it wasn't hard to extrapolate what he meant by that. Keith was never much one to outright <em>boast</em>- he usually didn't need to. His actions did enough speaking.</p><p>(Unless Lieutenant Griffin was around, in which case he wouldn't hesitate to rub things in his face. It was a favor the lieutenant returned.)</p><p>"Huh," Shiro returned his grin, "-guess you aren't <em>that </em>much of an old timer yet."</p><p>"Wow," Keith's grin only grew in response, "-so much for respecting your elders."</p><p>"What can I say?" Shiro shrugged. "I learned from the best."</p><p>"Huh," Keith frowned, tilting his head, "-maybe Admiral Sanda was right. Maybe I <em>am </em>a bad influence."</p><p>"What," Shiro said, "-you're just realizing this <em>now</em>?"</p><p>"Always have been a slow learner." Keith shrugged, pushing himself off the wall. "Come on. Everyone else is gathering back on the training deck. We should probably hurry up if we don't want to face the princess' wrath."</p><p>"Yeah, that's... probably a good idea." Shiro agreed.</p><p>Keith smiled, pausing to pat his helmeted head before he walked past him. Shiro frowned slightly, even as he fell into step behind him. His gaze kept dropping down to his left leg without him meaning for it to, recalling the nasty scar where it would have ended in a stump at his knee if not for the alien prosthetic. He didn't carry it any different than he did his right, but now that he'd seen it, he couldn't get the image of it out of his head.</p><p>"...does it hurt?"</p><p>Keith didn't even miss a step, though his fingers twitched, and Shiro was certain he'd heard his breath briefly hitch in his throat.</p><p>"No," he said, "-it's fine."</p><p>For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to believe that.</p>
<hr/><p>"I'm <em>done </em>with this!"</p><p>In the otherwise quiet room, the clatter of Pidge's headpiece as it hit the floor was almost deafening. It served to sever the last of their lingering connection to one another, a jarring feeling that took him several seconds to shake off, before a bubble of frustration took its place, one that was entirely his own.</p><p>Early hiccups aside, the mind-melding exercise had actually been going so <em>well</em>. They'd even nearly managed to form Voltron, albeit mentally, before Pidge had completely lost focus.</p><p>And now he was just <em>giving up</em>?</p><p>"Pidge-"</p><p>"I just," Pidge ran a hand through his hair, briefly grasping at his roots in clear frustration, "-I just don't like everyone grubbing around in my head, that's all. It doesn't <em>feel </em>right."</p><p>Shiro deflated, the bubble of frustration popping. Pidge had a point- it might be the first exercise that was actually going <em>well</em>, but he hadn't actually been wildly enthusiastic about it either at first. The prospect of being linked mentally had made him... understandably nervous, given what he still hadn't told the rest of the paladins. The only one who actually knew about his condition was Keith, and while he knew he had to tell the others eventually, this wasn't exactly the way he wanted them to find out.</p><p>And sure, those fears hadn't come to fruition, but still... he guessed he could see where Pidge was coming from. It <em>was </em>a pretty invasive exercise.</p><p>"Maybe we should take a break." Shiro suggested. "We've all been working pretty hard."</p><p>That sounded leader-like enough, Shiro hoped.</p><p>Apparently it did, because everyone rapidly agreed. Only Keith stayed silent, though he couldn't help but notice he'd been the first one after Pidge to take his headpiece off. Frowning, Shiro removed his own, briefly studying it before setting it aside. He wasn't quite sure how it worked, but from the second he'd put it on he'd been able to <em>feel </em>the rest of the paladins, just like he was able to feel the black lion.</p><p>It wasn't anything <em>concrete</em>- mostly just vague impressions. But just like he could with his lion, he suspected that if he really focused, he could probably get a lot more than just that. And for someone as naturally secretive and withdrawn as Keith...</p><p>...well, he could sort of understand why he wouldn't like that.</p><p>Of course, he could have used the mind meld to get some answers, he realized in retrospect. But that seemed... <em>unfair</em>, almost- not to mention <em>hypocritical</em>. He couldn't exactly do to Keith what he didn't want the others doing to him. What kind of leader would he be if he did things like <em>that</em>?</p><p>"Okay, then it's agreed." Shiro said. "We're taking a break. Coran?"</p><p>"Fine by me." Coran said. "Shiro's right. You all have been working fairly hard. Give me a tick and I can even bring you down some refreshments!"</p><p>"Thanks, Coran," Shiro smiled, "-that'd be great."</p><p>"I hope it's not more food goo." Lance groaned, placing a hand on his stomach. "Eating that stuff has given me a whole new appreciation for Meatloaf Mondays."</p><p>Shiro chuckled, watching as Pidge out of the corner of his eye as Pidge sat back down. He still looked pretty grumpy, and was very pointedly <em>not </em>looking at Hunk. Heaving a slight sigh, he caught the yellow paladin's eye. Hunk blinked, but when he glanced in Pidge's direction, he seemed to get the message.</p><p>"I guess I should probably apologize for snooping around in your head hole like that, huh?" Hunk asked, sounding sheepish.</p><p>"Probably." Pidge said curtly.</p><p>"Yeah..." Hunk trailed off, twiddling his thumbs, "-my bad. I just wanted to maybe find out your girlfriend's name. She's cute, by the way. I mean, she's not <em>my </em>type but just- just thought I'd put that out there."</p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw Keith snort.</p><p>"...thanks," Pidge sounded strangely reluctant, before adding, "-but seriously, she's <em>not </em>my girlfriend."</p><p>"Really?" Hunk asked. "So who is she? I mean, she must be pretty important if you carry a picture of her around with you."</p><p>Pidge arched a brow. "I thought we just got done agreeing that you were wrong to pry."</p><p>"Okay, point taken." Hunk said, holding up his hands. "Can't blame a guy for being curious though, right?"</p><p>Judging from the look on Pidge's face, Shiro was going to guess that the answer to that was <em>yes</em>. Faintly chuckling, he caught Keith's eye just in time to watch him cover his mouth, as if he were attempting to suppress a laugh. Realizing that he was being watched, he deliberately coughed into his hand, pointedly looking away.</p><p>That settled it. There was <em>definitely </em>something going on between Pidge and Keith, some kind of shared secret. And if he didn't miss his guess, whatever that secret was, it involved the girl in Pidge's photograph. But if she wasn't his girlfriend...</p><p>...actually, come to think of it, she seemed kind of <em>familiar</em>. But where...?</p><p>"Water?"</p><p>Shiro flinched, his heart momentarily leaping out of his chest before he realized it was just Adam. His boyfriend was watching him with an amused expression, some kind of water pouch held in his outstretched hand. He hastily accepted it, removing the straw and jabbing it into the pouch, taking a long, refreshing drink.</p><p>He'd needed that more than he'd thought.</p><p>"Thanks." Shiro smiled up at Adam. "How's working with Coran?"</p><p>"I'm either learning a lot about Altean culture, or Coran is messing with me." Adam said, crouching next to him. "One of the two."</p><p>Shiro snorted. "He does seem a little... <em>eccentric</em>."</p><p>"You don't know the half of it." Adam said, before his lips twitched into a grin best described as <em>impish</em>. "But hey. At least I'm not being sucked ass first through a hole."</p><p>Shiro was just glad he hadn't been drinking any water at the moment, otherwise he would have surely choked. His cheeks were flushed as he let out a groan, hanging his head.</p><p>"So you saw that, huh?"</p><p>He'd kind of assumed as much, but it was another thing to actually <em>hear </em>it.</p><p>"Pretty sure it was recorded, too. It's probably already in the Castle's archives." Adam's grin didn't fade. "Something tells me I'll get <em>a lot</em> of replay value out of that."</p><p>"Oh shut up." Shiro glared at him, but there wasn't any real fire behind it and it quickly gave way to a grin of his own. "You know I still have that video of you walking into that pole on my phone, right? Nothing's stopping me from showing it to everyone here."</p><p>"Is that a <em>threat</em>, Shirogane?" Adam asked.</p><p>"Do you want to <em>make it</em> one, Warner?" Shiro challenged.</p><p>Adam held his gaze for a long second, before breaking eye contact with a laugh. "You have to admit, it was pretty funny."</p><p>"Oh, I'm sure it will be in a few days." Shiro agreed. "Right now the only thing I'm sure of is that armor or not, my ass is going to be sore tomorrow."</p><p>"Yeah," the edge of Adam's lip twitched upwards, "-that's what they all say."</p><p>Opening his mouth to respond, Shiro snapped it shut, his cheeks already heating up. "...I walked right into that one, didn't I?"</p><p>"<em>Yup</em>."</p><p>Shiro just huffed, returning his attention to his water pouch. Taking a long drink, he wondered what Coran had in store for them next. He hoped for their sakes that he wouldn't have them try the mind melding exercise again- it might go a little better now that Hunk had promised he wouldn't root around in Pidge's head, but something told him that he probably wouldn't be up for it just yet- especially not when he was pretty confident that his last mistake had been because of Pidge himself.</p><p>Hunk was right about one thing. Whoever the girl in the purple dress was, she had to be important to Pidge if he was carrying around her photograph. Maybe she wasn't his <em>girlfriend</em>, but...</p><p>...purple dress?</p><p>Shiro frowned, trying to recall why that stood out to him so much. Hadn't someone been dressed like that at the Kerberos launch? Come to think of it, there'd been a shuttle in the background...</p><p>Oh. <em>Oh</em>.</p><p>Oh wow, that made so much more sense. In hindsight, he wondered how he could have ever possibly <em>missed </em>it. But then again, he'd never exactly spoken to Commander Holt's daughter before- just his son, the few times he'd run into him at the Garrison. The last he'd heard of the Commander's daughter, she'd been removed from Garrison property by force. Something about hacking into classified data feeds.</p><p>Pidge Gunderson transferred in not long after that.</p><p>He'd just... keep that to himself for now.</p><p>(No wonder Keith was laughing.)</p>
<hr/><p>"What are you doing lying around? You're supposed to be training!"</p><p>Allura's voice cracked like a whip through the training deck, instantly snapping his attention towards the princess. If he thought she'd looked angry before, she looked properly irate now. Exchanging a glance with Adam, he hastily jerked to his feet, standing at full attention. He stopped just short of giving her a proper salute, freezing mid-gesture before thinking better of it.</p><p>He couldn't help but notice that he wasn't the only one. Both Lance and Hunk had snapped to attention, the latter actually going through with the salute before apparently realizing he wasn't at the Garrison and dropping it awkwardly. Pidge's back was now ramrod straight, and Adam was much the same. The only one who remained largely unfazed was Keith, which wasn't necessarily much of a surprise. The only time he'd seen him stand at attention seriously was for the Kerberos launch.</p><p>He was, however, paying a lot more attention.</p><p>"Just taking a short water break, that's all." Shiro explained. "I'm not sure how it works for Alteans, but hydrated humans typically produce better results than dehydrated ones."</p><p>Allura frowned. For a second, he thought she might snap at him, but she instead turned on her heel, facing Coran. "Have they faced the Gladiator yet?"</p><p>"Not just yet." Coran said. "I've been building them up to it."</p><p>"The Gladiator?" Pidge asked, shifting her posture to be slightly more relaxed, if no less wary. "What's that?"</p><p>"It's a special type of training drone, not that much different from those sentries that you encountered on Sendak's ship." Coran replied. "In fact, my grandfather was the one who designed the Castles'-"</p><p>Allura cleared her throat, cutting short what was bound to be a long, rambling explanation. "What Coran means to say is that the Gladiator is your next training exercise."</p><p>"Fighting robots, huh?" Lance grinned. "Sounds pretty cool."</p><p>"Yeah, I don't know about that." Hunk wrung his hands, shifting awkwardly on his feet. "We didn't exactly do all that well against the drones, and those were just little floating orb things."</p><p>"Hunk!" Lance yelled, his eyes darting towards the princess. "She doesn't need to know about that!"</p><p>Allura merely rolled her eyes, turning her full attention back towards Coran. "Well? Is the Gladiator functional or not?"</p><p>"Of course, Princess." Coran said. "I'll get to it right away."</p><p>"Then it's decided." Allura said. "The five of you will face the Gladiator. It will be an excellent opportunity to test both you and your bayards."</p><p>"Hold on," Adam interrupted, "-I thought Shiro didn't have one of those <em>bayard </em>things. How is he supposed to fight?"</p><p>Shiro's fingers twitched, realizing that Adam had a point. He might have gotten lucky back on the Galra ship, but it was true that he didn't have anything to defend himself with. According to the princess, the black bayard had been lost with its paladin, making him the only one without a weapon.</p><p>That... could be a problem.</p><p>Allura apparently agreed, because she turned on her heel to look at him. "A fair point, but this only highlights the need to make other arrangements. Are you any good with weapons?"</p><p>"Not really." Shiro admitted. "I'm pretty good with hand to hand, but I don't know how well that's going to work against a robot."</p><p>Or the Galra, for that matter.</p><p>"In that case, I suppose now is as good a time as any to get you acquainted with one." Allura said. "I don't suppose you have any preferences?"</p><p>"I- no. Not really." Shiro replied.</p><p>He'd never given any thought to weapons before. The Garrison had classes where cadets could learn how to use firearms, but that had never really been his style, so other than the introductory class that they were all required to take, he'd never really followed up on them. Adam had a little more experience than he did, but...</p><p>His gut twisted, a pang of guilt washing over him. Some part of him knew it wasn't rational- it wasn't his fault that they didn't have the black bayard- but he still couldn't help but feel like he was already holding the team back.</p><p>Maybe he really <em>was </em>the reason they couldn't form Voltron.</p><p>"What about my knife?"</p><p>Shiro's head snapped up, looking at Keith. He hadn't even realized he'd dropped his gaze to the floor until then. "Your knife?"</p><p>Wordlessly, Keith produced the item in question, prompting more than one person to do a questioning double take. While he certainly had questions as to where he was hiding it, it didn't surprise him that Keith had kept his knife on him. He could count the number of times he'd seen him without it on one hand, which was why it had come as such a shock that he'd left it behind when he went to Kerberos.</p><p>And why the offer came as such a surprise.</p><p>"Are you sure?" Shiro asked. "I thought it was important to you."</p><p>"Just for the exercise." Keith shrugged, the edge of his lip quirked in a faint smile. "You can give it back afterwards."</p><p>"I suppose that will do for now." Allura said. "Of course, we'll want to find a more permanent solution for your bayard problem moving forward."</p><p>Shiro nodded, swallowing a little as he reached out to take the proffered knife. It was a familiar sight to him, but he'd never had the chance to actually <em>hold it</em> before. It was heavier than he'd expected, but the wrappings around the handle helped with the grip. The metal glinted strangely under the Castle's lights, reflecting his image back at him. All he knew about it was that it was some kind of family heirloom, one of the few things Keith still had from the family he never talked about.</p><p>And he was entrusting it to <em>him</em>.</p><p>Sure, only for a few minutes, but still. Trust didn't exactly come easily to Keith, so just the fact that he'd been willing to lend it to him was <em>huge</em>.</p><p>And strangely... strangely, it made him feel <em>better</em>.</p><p>"Now that <em>that's </em>settled," Allura said, "-we can begin the exercise. Coran?"</p><p>"Copy that, princess. And don't worry! We'll start you off easy!" Coran assured them, before glancing towards Adam. "Come on, then. We don't want to get in the way of this."</p><p>Adam frowned, briefly hesitating. Shiro caught his eye and gave him a reassuring smile, before he joined the other paladins in formation. Adam watched for a second longer, before he followed Coran and Allura to safety, out of range for whatever sort of robot this <em>Gladiator </em>was supposed to be. He wasn't sure what to expect, which just meant that he had to be prepared for <em>anything</em>. Everyone else seemed to be thinking the same thing, as they'd almost instinctively formed a ring in the center of the training deck. Each paladin had their bayard drawn and ready, bracing themselves for what was to come.</p><p>Everything except for it dropping down <em>behind </em>them.</p><p>Of them, Keith reacted the fastest, pivoting on his heel with his bayard at the ready to defend himself from any incoming attacks. But as fast he was, the Gladiator was <em>faster</em>- and it's target <em>wasn't </em>Keith.</p><p>It was Hunk.</p><p>Hunk's bayard was the heaviest, but also the slowest. It took the form of a powerful cannon that he barely seemed to be able to control, given that his shots missed his target entirely, aiming at Keith instead. Thankfully he threw his shield up in time, merely grunting at the impact as the Gladiator made quick work of taking Hunk down.</p><p>And this was supposed to be <em>easy</em>?</p><p>The robot itself was taller than even Keith, though not by that much. It was armed with a staff, one that had the ability to produce <em>electric shocks</em>. It had only taken one of them to put Hunk out like a light, and even though he was confident that their armor protected them from the worst effects, it still didn't exactly look <em>pleasant</em>.</p><p><em>Speaking </em>of electric shocks...</p><p>Where Hunk fell, Pidge rushed in. She wasn't the only one- all it took was seeing his friend go down, and Lance was ready to charge, his bayard at the ready. It took the form of a rifle- not a huge surprise when Lance's scores in all his firearms courses were actually pretty good, according to Pidge. Speaking of the green paladin, she was small and agile, and had a shocking weapon of her own- a combo attack with the two could work pretty well.</p><p>There was just one problem.</p><p>Lance had the same problem Hunk did- he didn't expect Pidge to be there when the Gladiator dodged all of his shots. Thankfully, she was able to put her shield up in time, but in doing so she left herself vulnerable, something the Gladiator didn't hesitate to exploit. Before he knew it, both Pidge <em>and </em>Lance were out for the count, leaving only him- and Keith.</p><p>And Keith <em>wasn't moving</em>.</p><p>His eyes were wide, fixed on Pidge's fallen form. Abruptly, Shiro realized he wasn't seeing her, but someone <em>else </em>in her place.</p><p>(Brother and sister looked so much alike.)</p><p>In what felt like slow motion, the Gladiator turned towards Keith, raising its staff and <em>charged</em>. Shiro felt his heart jerk, gripping the borrowed knife tight. Even if he ran, he wouldn't make it in time.</p><p>"Keith!"</p><p>Jerking to awareness, Keith moved almost on instinct, knocking the Gladiator's staff out of its hands and kicking it away. Shiro felt himself move before he knew what he was doing, running towards the Gladiator. He caught Keith's eye, the red paladin's lips twitching into a grin as he caught up with him, before shifting towards the robot.</p><p>They struck at the same time.</p><p>For a long second, nothing happened- and then the Gladiator burst apart into bright light, leaving nothing behind.</p><p>"Is it... is it gone?" He heard Hunk ask from behind him.</p><p>Letting out a breath, Shiro slowly nodded. "Yeah. I think so."</p><p>"Well <em>that </em>sucked more than I expected." Lance groaned.</p><p>In spite of himself, Shiro snorted, relaxing his shoulders. Glancing over towards Keith, he was relieved that he seemed back to his usual self. He pointedly avoided looking at Pidge, the borrowed knife heavy in his hands with unasked questions.</p><p>But Keith trusted him. That was enough for him.</p><p>"That was some kick." Shiro said, holding out the knife towards him. "Here. You probably want this back."</p><p>"Couldn't have done it without you." Keith said, taking the knife from him and making it disappear back into his armor. "Thanks for the assist."</p><p>"Hey, that's what leaders are for, right?" Shiro asked.</p><p>Keith smiled, though there was an edge of something to it that dampened the effect. Transforming his bayard back into its default form, he looked towards Allura.</p><p>"So what now?" He asked. "Do we fight another of those things?"</p><p>"No," Allura said coldly, her disappointment palpable, "-I believe I've seen enough. It's obvious that none of you were ready for this exercise."</p><p>Narrowing his eyes, Keith took a step forward. "We beat it, didn't we?"</p><p>"Perhaps," Allura agreed, "-but you also simply stood around and watched while three of your fellow paladins were defeated. I would have thought that your time with your planet's military would have taught you a little bit more about working in a <em>team</em>."</p><p>He could have sworn Keith bared his teeth at the princess, only to slowly exhale, forcing the tension from his shoulders. "I wasn't exactly-"</p><p>"Military?" Lance groaned as he sat up. "He wasn't with the military. He was a <em>mercenary</em>."</p><p>Allura's frown became more pronounced, turning towards Keith with an assessing gaze. "Is this true?"</p><p>"<em>Ex</em>-mercenary," Keith clarified, locking eyes with the princess, "-I left that life behind me."</p><p>Allura held his gaze, the two gazing silently at each other for what felt like an eternity before the princess looked away. In the quiet of the room, he could hear Keith exhale.</p><p>"Whatever the case," the princess said, "-all five of you will have to be able to work as a team if you are to have any hope of forming Voltron."</p><p>With that, she turned abruptly on her heel and left without another word, leaving behind an uncomfortable silence that lingered for several moments before Lance broke it.</p><p>"Well I don't know what <em>she's </em>talking about," he said, "-I can work in a team just fine."</p><p>"You <em>shot </em>me." Pidge glowered, shoving herself up off the floor. "Remember that?"</p><p>Lance winced, pointedly avoiding eye contact with her. "Oh yeah."</p><p>"I think the princess kind of has a point." Hunk admitted, groaning as he sat up, rubbing where the Gladiator had hit his stomach with its staff. "I kind of shot Keith too. Sorry about that, by the way."</p><p>Shoulders slumping, Keith exhaled. "It's fine. I probably should have tried defending you."</p><p>"And I could have acted quicker." Shiro admitted. "Guess we're <em>all </em>pretty new at this whole teamwork thing, huh?"</p><p>Keith snorted. "You can say that again."</p><p>"Well, what's done is done." Shiro said, hoping that sound leader-like. "What's next, Coran?"</p><p>"<em>Please </em>tell me it's not more drones." Hunk whined.</p><p>"No worries, no drones for this next activity." Coran said. "Actually, I was thinking now would be just as good a time as any to break for lunch. Why don't you all take a short break, and meet me in the dining hall in ten quintants?"</p><p>"Ten what?" Pidge asked, arching an eyebrow.</p><p>"Minutes," Adam automatically replied, "-he means ten minutes."</p><p>"Well, whatever you call it," Coran said, "-make sure to be there on time. I don't think the princess will be too happy if any of you are late."</p><p>Exchanging a glance between them, Shiro felt confident that not wanting to make the princess any angrier was something that they could <em>all </em>agree on.</p><p>Besides, a break would be nice.</p>
<hr/><p>Lunch was <em>not </em>a break.</p><p>"Welcome," Coran had said, with a glint of what was either mischief or malice in his eyes, "-to your final bonding exercise of the day."</p><p>Shiro pretended he didn't hear Adam's snort. Glancing over towards Hunk, the yellow paladin sheepishly glanced at their linked hands, before turning his head to glance awkwardly over towards Lance. The blue paladin groaned, glancing next to him at Keith, who looked torn between irritation and bemusement, silently communicating something with Pidge, who just looked <em>beyond </em>annoyed.</p><p>They were supposed to feed each other like they were a pack of yalmors, Coran had said. Whatever a <em>yalmor </em>was.</p><p>So much for a peaceful lunch.</p><p>They'd been struggling for a few minutes when Allura walked in, the same sour expression on her face from earlier. She sat down without giving them so much as a look and began eating- without having to <em>literally </em>be cuffed to anyone else, he noted sourly.</p><p>But even that, he could endure. <em>They </em>could endure.</p><p>It was only when the princess crinkled her nose, casting an annoyed glance in their direction and asked if Earthlings ever <em>stopped </em>complaining, that Shiro felt something snap inside of him.</p><p>"Can't you just give us a break?" He asked, drawing on every ounce of his Garrison training to keep his tone civil. "We've all been working really hard today."</p><p>"And what do you have to show for it?" Allura asked, her eyes narrowing. "You've yet to come close to forming Voltron."</p><p>"Well <em>excuse us</em> for not learning how to fly giant mechanical cats in a day." Pidge rolled her eyes. "Why don't <em>you </em>do it if it's so easy?"</p><p>Something akin to genuine hurt flickered through Allura's eyes, but it was gone just as quick, smothered. "If I could fly the lions myself, then believe me, I <em>would</em>."</p><p>"Can't you just use that mystical bond thingy you have with the lions and make it work?" Hunk asked. "You can do that, right?"</p><p>"My bond with the lions only enables me to find them," Allura said, "-not to do your job for you."</p><p>"Then maybe you should leave <em>our </em>job to <em>us</em>." Keith snapped. "We'll figure it out. We just need time and less of you <em>breathing down our necks</em>."</p><p>Coran bristled. "You do not speak to the princess that way!"</p><p>"Oh, the princess of <em>what</em>?" Pidge shot back. "We're the only ones here, and she's no princess of ours!"</p><p>He'd expected Allura to say something back to that sure, but what he didn't expect was for her to fling a spoonful of food goo straight at Pidge's face. She could barely even react for those first few seconds, before she sprung to her feet and launched a counterattack, flinging her own plate of goo towards the princess, one that Coran effortlessly deflected back at them with nothing more than a towel.</p><p>That's where things got a little... <em>chaotic</em>.</p><p>The next thing he knew, food goo was <em>everywhere</em>. No one was spared from the stuff- well, except for Adam, who had wisely ducked underneath the table almost as soon as the goo started to fly. He knew he shouldn't have encouraged this, much less joined in. He was supposed to be the leader, supposed to set an example for the other paladins. Getting into a food fight with an alien princess didn't <em>exactly </em>sound like the kind of thing <em>defenders of the universe</em> did.</p><p>But hey, after the day they'd had, there was something almost <em>cathartic </em>about doing something as childish as getting into a food fight.</p><p>Besides, the princess had started it.</p><p><em>Speaking </em>of the princess...</p><p>She collapsed in one of the chairs, seemingly defeated. For a brief second there was silence, before he and the rest of the paladins exchanged a look with one another, a bubble of laughter escaping.</p><p>"<em>Enough!</em>" Allura's shout cut their laughter short. "Don't you see what you're doing?"</p><p>Shiro flinched, abruptly remembering his supposed role. He knew he should have-</p><p>But when Allura looked up, she wasn't scowling. She didn't even look <em>disappointed</em>. If anything, she looked...</p><p>...<em>delighted</em>?</p><p>"You're finally working together as one!"</p><p>Shiro blinked, then blinked again, before glancing at his fellow paladins. She... had a point, actually. Despite being <em>literally chained together</em>, they'd managed to work together flawlessly, even if it <em>had </em>been just for a silly food fight. And yet...</p><p>...he couldn't help but feel like it was more than <em>just </em>a silly food fight.</p><p>"She's right," he heard himself say, "-we were. We <em>did</em>."</p><p>"Maybe we should do it." Keith said, catching his eye.</p><p>Shiro quirked a faint grin, if only because there was something deeply hilarious about seeing someone he knew other people feared because of his reputation covered in dripping green goo. Granted, he probably didn't look too much better himself.</p><p>"Form Voltron?" Pidge asked.</p><p>"Yeah, yeah," Hunk agreed, "-maybe we should."</p><p>"Yeah!" Lance cheered. "I'm totally getting that Voltron feeling!"</p><p>"Then let's do it." Shiro grinned, the changed mood downright infectious. "Let's form Voltron!"</p><p>"That's great and all," Adam said, poking his head out from under the table, now that it was safe, "-but don't you think you should clean up first?"</p><p>"...right after we clean up first!"</p>
<hr/><p>Forming Voltron was amazing.</p><p>No, it was <em>incredible</em>.</p><p>They could do this, he thought to himself, basking in the feeling. They really <em>could </em>do this.</p>
<hr/><p>"That was <em>amazing</em>!"</p><p>He'd barely walked in the door before Adam threw his arms around him, a broad grin on his face. Swept up in the infectious mood, Shiro wrapped his arms around him, delivering a quick kiss to his boyfriend's lips. Honestly, he would have made it longer, but out of courtesy for the fact that they weren't alone, he kept it short.</p><p>"And there they go," Pidge remarked, a bemused expression on her face as she leaned back on one of the couches, "-right on schedule."</p><p>"I think it's cute." Hunk said. "Kind of makes me wish <em>I </em>had a boyfriend. Or, you know, a girlfriend. That would be good too. I'm not picky."</p><p>"It <em>was </em>pretty amazing though, right?" Lance grinned. "I mean, I thought just flying the blue lion was cool, but man! I'm so hyped up, I don't know if I'll even be able to sleep tonight!"</p><p>"I think I know what you mean." Shiro said, disentangling himself from Adam, before noticing the pronounced absence in the room. "Where's Keith?"</p><p>Pidge shrugged. "I asked him to join us, but he said he had some stuff to do."</p><p>Shiro frowned, exchanging a glance with Adam, who just shrugged. The news didn't exactly surprise him- Keith had never exactly been the social sort, and after spending most of the day hanging around people he barely knew, it didn't shock him that he might want some time to himself. Still, he'd kind of been hoping for the chance to talk to him.</p><p>Guess it could wait.</p><p>"Eh," Lance shrugged, "-probably better that he said no. Don't think I could relax with <em>mister ex-mercenary</em> around."</p><p>"I don't know," Hunk frowned, "-I mean, I thought he would be super mad at me for accidentally shooting him during training, but he didn't even get upset."</p><p>Lance hummed in consideration, though he still looked skeptical. "I guess that's true."</p><p>"Keith's not a bad guy," Shiro promised, "-just awkward."</p><p>Pidge snorted, a knowing look on her face. He caught her eye, and she caught his, sharing a brief moment of silent communication before she broke it off with a grin.</p><p>"Lance is just a big fan of Lieutenant Griffin." Pidge said.</p><p>Ah. Arching a brow, Shiro glanced over towards the blue paladin who simply shrugged in response.</p><p>"What can I say," he said, "-the Lieutenant's cool. Way cooler than anyone who ties back his hair with <em>rubber bands</em>."</p><p>"You have to admit," Adam began, "-that's fair."</p><p>"Just don't let Keith hear you say that." Shiro said. "Anyways, I'm going to head to bed. It's been a long day, and we get up early tomorrow."</p><p>"Yeah, I think I'll turn in too." Hunk said, already getting to his feet. "You coming, Pidge?"</p><p>"I think I'll hang out here for awhile longer." Pidge said.</p><p>"Eh, suit yourself." Lance shrugged, getting up.</p><p>"What happened about not being able to sleep?" Adam asked.</p><p>"That was <em>before </em>Shiro mentioned getting up early tomorrow." Lance said. "Lancey-Lance needs his beauty rest."</p><p>"<em>Lancey-Lance</em> needs to come up with better nicknames for himself," Pidge muttered underneath her breath.</p><p>"What was that?" Lance asked.</p><p>"Nothing!" Pidge smiled.</p><p>Lance squinted at her for a few seconds, before shrugging. He caught up with Hunk, the two of them chattering about something just out of earshot as he trailed behind with Adam.</p><p>"So," Adam began, glancing at him, "-rough day?"</p><p>In spite of himself, Shiro laughed.</p>
<hr/><p>Ulaz's transponder felt heavy in his hands.</p><p>Perched atop the red lion, Keith stared down at the little device. Today had been so busy that he hadn't had much of a chance to think about his next step. Hearing that the prisoners they'd rescued wouldn't be getting out of their cryopods until tomorrow had relaxed him a little, but all too soon, that feeling had caught up with him.</p><p>He had two choices, and neither of them were good.</p><p>Heaving a sigh, he wrapped his fingers around the transponder. In truth, his mind was already made up.</p><p>The red lion rumbled, shifting into a crouch as he stood up. Leaping down from her head, Keith paused for a moment to glance up at the lion, a faint smile crossing his face. Honestly, he'd been uncertain when Allura had first told him that he was supposed to be a paladin, but after connecting with the red lion, he couldn't shake the feeling that she'd been right.</p><p>Reaching out, he touched the red lion's jaw. "Good kitty."</p><p>Taking in a deep breath, Keith pocketed the transponder, tucking his hands into his jacket. Heading out of the red lion's hangar, he made a beeline for his destination, having already resolved himself to deal with whatever happened as a result of his decision. Stepping onto the bridge with more noise than was wholly necessary, he met the princess' eyes.</p><p>"Keith?" Allura frowned. "I thought you would have been with the other paladins?"</p><p>"Actually," he began, "-there's something I need to tell you."</p>
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